THE Government might not have ''met its commitments'' towards the
Channel Tunnel, the project's former co-chairman claimed last night.
Hesitations about the building of the London-to-Folkestone high-speed
rail link were ''to be deplored'', said Mr Andre Benard.
Speaking at a transport lecture in London, Mr Benard said that
although there was no commitment from the British Government to build
the fast link -- ''there was a clear commitment that railways would
provide the required capacity''.
Mr Benard added that there appeared ''for all to see a large
discrepancy between the ways in which the British and French governments
saw and understood the project''.
He went on: ''With hindsight it seems that a much better understanding
between the two governments of their respective goals and a
rapprochement between their respective philosophies would have been
highly desirable for the project to maximise its benefits.''
Private sector consortia are now bidding to build and run the #3
billion high-speed link but parliamentary processes and a five-year
building programme mean it is unlikely to be running before the year
2002.
The French already had their high-speed link in place and the Belgian
one will be running by 1997.
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